


Love Stories and Tragedies

by avenirdelight



Category: Football RPF, Men's Football RPF, Tottenham Hotspur - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Basketball, Angst, Chelsea FC, Developing Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Getting Together, One Shot, Spurs, Tottenham Hotspur, Tottenham Hotspur - Fandom - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-15 05:00:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28807743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avenirdelight/pseuds/avenirdelight
Summary: A collection of one shots and 2-3 parts imagines of footballers (mostly Tottenham Hotspur players).For the shorter one shots / drabbles, please check out my other compilation 'Everything, Everything'!
Relationships: Ben Chilwell/Original Female Character(s), Harry Winks/Original Female Character(s), Jan Vertonghen/Original Female Character(s), Son Heung-min/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	1. Three-Pointer - Jan Vertonghen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by a video of Jan doing a three-pointer, here's Jan as your senior in high school, a member of the basketball team.

**_[The video](https://www.instagram.com/p/BdxwwpGhIrR/) _ **

\-----

“Are we even allowed to be here?” she asked worriedly when they entered the indoor basketball court. He was dragging her by her hand.

“We just need to make an excuse if we get caught. Let’s just say that we get the training schedule wrong, they’ll let us go,” he said casually.

“Jan!” she exclaimed and stopped in her track, releasing her hand from Jan’s.

He chuckled. “Relax, I’m kidding. We’ve booked the court. The new members are gonna practice today. I need to get the court ready. Come on, help me to prepare the cones.”

She spent the next fifteen minutes helping Jan to get the balls and other training equipments out from the storage. She asked him why he had to do it. He was a senior; the younger boys were the ones who usually did this. Jan said that he lost a bet from Toby, his best friend and the team’s captain, so Toby asked him to do preparations for the next training.

After they were done setting the cones, Jan grabbed one of the balls from the basket while she sat on the floor, resting.

“Three point, watch,” he said, looking at her, before casually dribbling the ball and shooting a three points. Of course it went it.

“Ugh, you’re such a show-off,” she rolled her eyes.

“It was how I got your attention, no?”

“Well, you always do that to grab every girl’s attention.”

“Well, I can’t blame them if they’re impressed with the thing I do best. But you know I only do ‘the special show’ for the special person. For you,” he said playfully, before shooting another three point.

He was always so flirtatious towards her. She tried to ignored it the first times he tried to flirt with her. But hey, it was Jan Vertonghen, one of the team’s best and most popular players. It would be impossible to not to pay attention to him. He was just so full of charisma, one that she gave up on trying to deny. And with those blue eyes? Oh, please.

“Do a spin three times, then shoot,” she said.

“What if it goes in?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you have to give me something.”

“You’re the one who has to give me something. I just helped you do your work.”

“Okay, I’ll give you something. But you have to give me something too.”

She bit her lower lip, trying to think of what she could give him. It took her a moment, but she couldn’t find any ideas.

“What do you want?” she asked him.

He smirked. There was only one thing that he wanted. But he was not sure that this was the right moment to ask for it. He needed to ask three times before she finally said yes to go on their first date. He had two failed attempts of kissing her after their second date. She wanted to take everything slowly, driving him crazy in the process. You’d understand if you see how beautiful her smile was, or how cute her face looked when she thinks. It was the smallest details about her that made Jan fell in love deeper and deeper.

They had spent a lot of times together in the past few weeks, they had been on a few dates. Observing the pace that she had set for their developing relationship, he knew that there was no way that she was going to say yes for what he was going to ask. But he thought that testing the water would cause no harm. Well, hopefully.

“You,” Jan finally said.

“What?” There was confusion on her face. She didn’t understand what he meant.

“I want you to be my girlfriend. If I spin three times and the ball goes in, I get to be your boyfriend,” he proposed.

She froze, clearly taken aback by his request. He saw it coming. He felt like he had started to know her better. He understood that she was not ready for them to begin dating. But he just wanted to know where they were standing right now. And he was right; it seemed like he still needed more time before he could get her to be his girlfriend.

“I’m kidding,” he slightly chuckled, starting to get worried because she just stared at him with a blank face. “You only have to give me those beautiful chocolate cookies you make. I’m sure that wouldn’t be a problem, no?”

He dribbled the ball and was ready to do the spin, when her words stopped her.

“Five times.”

He was the one who froze this time.

“Spin five times. It’s your jersey number,” she shrugged. “If the ball goes in, you can be my boyfriend starting from tomorrow.”

“O- Okay,” he stuttered. Now he was the one who was surprised. “Why tomorrow?”

“It’s December twelve tomorrow. Twelve twelve. It’s a pretty date,” she shrugged, earning a nervous laugh from him.

Jan could feel that his heart was suddenly beating faster. Okay. He definitely did not expect this turn of events. Was this real? He took a good glance at her, and she was sitting there, expectantly staring at him with her gorgeous pair of hazel eyes. God, she looked gorgeous in that blue cardigan on her. Jan needed to tell her that later.

Okay, this was real. He felt his hand slightly trembling. This was his chance to make their relationship into something official, taking them to the next step. He could not mess this up. He knew he would regret it if he messes this up. If the ball goes in, he would be the luckiest man ever.

He took a deep breath, trying to shake off his nervousness. He bent down and started spinning.

“One, two, three, four, five,” she counted for him. She held her breath, observing the ball with full attention.

He shot it.

And of course, it went in.

Jan just stood there, looking at the ball rolling away on the floor. She did exactly the same. They were both in an utter disbelief.

He did it. He freaking did it.

The basketball court went silence for a few seconds before she softly said, “You’re crazy. How did you do that? You’re crazy, you know?

He turned around, watching her who had her jaw dropped. “Well, it’s me, the best three-pointer on the team.”

“Okay, are we done here? Can we go somewhere to eat because I’m starving,” she stood up, quickly grabbing her bag from the floor.

“Where do you want to go, girlfriend?” he asked with his biggest smile, spreading out his arms.

“I said it’s starting tomorrow. Twelve twelve,” she said. She felt like her her cheeks were burning. Her heart was beating so fast. She secretly hoped that the ball would go in, and it really went in!

“Eleventh of December is just as pretty. One one one two. It’s pretty.”

“Nope! Twelve twelve,” she insisted, starting to walk backwards, ready to run away from the court because she felt like she was going to explode from the extreme waves of happiness that was attacking her right now. Her stomach felt so funny!

“Where are you going?” he asked as she walked faster. He started to follow her, grabbing his backpack near when she was sitting.

“I’m hungry!” she started running from him. But she knew there was no way to escape from her soon-to-be-boyfriend.

She could feel Jan grabbing her by the hand and pulled her into a big hug. He couldn’t see it, but he could feel that she was grinning. He planted a couple of kisses on her head while gently stroking her back. The butterflies on her stomach went crazy. But the beating of his heart calmed her. She smiled wider knowing that his heart was beating as fast as hers.

“ _Dank je, schatje_ ,” he said. She hugged him tighter, making him smile.

“You’re welcome. But still, it starts tomorrow,” she replied, earning a chuckle from him.

“Okay, tomorrow. But I want to start practicing to call you _schatje_.”

“Okay, _schatje_ ,” she said in defeat. “You win.”

Jan had won many matches before, yet this was the biggest win for him. And most importantly, those countless hours of three point trainings were finally paid off.


	2. Bad Idea PART 1 - Harry Winks (ft. Ben Chilwell)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winksy met a girl at the pub and she gave him a surprise that he didn't expect.
> 
> (In a world where Winksy and Chilly aren't friends and Chilly isn't a footballer.)

It took Winksy a good five minutes before he finally decided to leave his seat, walking towards the girl sitting alone in the bar. He tried to calm his chaotic mind who was telling him that this was a bad idea. But, damn, that girl in the white blouse had captivated him and he just couldn’t get his eyes off of her. She was alone and he thought that maybe it was okay to just say hello. Well, it would also be great if he could get her number.

“Can I get a beer, please? Thanks,” Winksy said to the bartender, receiving a nod from the guy. Winksy took a seat on the bar stool.

He glanced to the girl with the white blouse that was now sitting beside him. She was leaning back to bar counter, her eyes were fully focused watching the band performing on the stage. Her head was bobbing slowly to the rhythm. Winksy mustered up his courage once again, reassuring himself that he couldn’t miss this chance to talk to her.

“She sounds so great,” Winksy commented about the singer.

He immediately got the girl’s attention as she turned her head away from the stage to glance at him.

“Of course she is, she’s my friend,” she replied, sipping on her beer.

“Really?”

She nodded. “It always annoys me how good she is. I can’t even sing a note.”

“Yeah. I can’t help but to be envious with people who were born to sing.”

“Oh, you can’t be that bad. My niece literally cried when I tried to sing her Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.”

Winksy chuckled, trying to kill his own nervousness. But the next second, he realized that it might have sounded offensive. “Sorry, I hope that doesn’t sound like an insult,” he apologized.

Winksy saw her lips twitching into a smile. “Hey, I made fun of myself, it is fine,” she shrugged. “Emily is the name. Nice to meet you,” she raised her glass to him.

“Harry. Nice to meet you.” Winksy turned his seat around as he also leaned back to the bar counter. His new glass of beer has just arrived, and Winksy clank his glass with hers. “Are you alone or is someone going to be mad if I talk to you now?”

“You can talk to me,” she shrugged. “I’m actually happy if you do. I mean, I’ve been sitting here alone for half an hour, expecting someone to approach me. So, thank you for making the move.”

Winksy’s eyes slightly widened, surprised that the girl that he expected to be shy was actually a quite blunt person. She was a cute petite girl; that was his thought when he first saw her. So he was just guessing that she would be a shy person, which was totally wrong.

“And I hope that my bluntness doesn’t scare you away,” she said as if she could read his mind. “I’ve had my experiences.”

“I’m quite surprised, but not planning to run away right now,” Winksy said with a playful smile. “Do you come here a lot?”

“My first time actually. She invited me, so I thought why don’t we check this place out? And it’s actually very nice here.”

“It is. If you want to a quick bite, they do really nice sandwiches here.”

She lifted her eyebrows. “Oh really? You come here a lot?”

“I live around here. Sometimes after training I like to stop by for a good beer and good music.”

“Training? What training?”

“Football training. I’m a footballer.”

“You’re Harry Winks, aren’t you? That’s why you look familiar! Must have seen you in one of those football matches my brother dragged me to watch!”

They continued to have a great conversation, according to Winksy. He figured out that she was not from around here. She was currently working as photographer in a creative agency in London. Her friend who was singing on the stage was doing a cover of Coldplay and she told him that Coldplay was her favorite band. He even found out that she also had two older sisters, who once accidentally met Chris Martin and took a picture with him. But she was in the hospital because of a car accident so she cried for a week because she felt so unfortunate that not only she got a broken arm, she also missed the chance to see Chris Martin.

They were laughing at a joke she said, and Harry thought that she had the most beautiful laugh. But then, this man just lingered his hand around her lower back, making her jump on her seat a little bit. Winksy’s defensive mode was automatically on, afraid that this stranger would do something that would make her uncomfortable.

“Babe, I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” the man said.

Winksy noticed that she immediately softened upon listening to his voice. Her lips twitched into a smirk as she glared at him. “Well, I’ve been waiting for an hour. I thought you weren’t going to come. And my phone died. so I decided to have fun by myself.”

“Sorry, baby. The meeting ended late and the traffic was really bad.”

And Winksy swore his heart sunk when he pulled her for a kiss. He averted his gaze from the scene that was happening in front of him, feeling like he had just invaded their personal space.

“And who might this be?” the man’s voice brought Winksy back to Earth.

“Oh, this is Harry. Harry, this is Chilly- I mean, Ben, my boyfriend,” she introduced both of them to each other. Winksy politely extended his hand to introduce himself which the man named Ben or Chilly accepted for a handshake. His grip on Winksy’s hand felt a little bit too strong for Winksy’s liking.

“It seems like you’ve been keeping my girlfriend company while I wasn’t here,” he said sternly. The jealousy on his voice was obvious. Winksy noticed her rolling her eyes, as if she already predicted that her boyfriend would make such cynical comment.

“We were just talking. If you didn’t want me to talk to anyone, baby, you shouldn’t have let me be alone here for an hour.”

Winksy was starting to get worried that this would be a problem. For the half an hour conversation that he had with her, she didn’t mention anything about a boyfriend. It was not his fault that he assumed she was single because he let her. He didn’t think that it was completely his fault to have hit on a taken woman, but still, he felt a guilt building inside of him.

Chilly smirked again as he was eyeing Winksy. Winksy’s brain was still thinking whether he should say anything or just stay quiet. But then the man patted him on his shoulder before saying thank you for keeping his girlfriend company.

“Thanks for being a good company. I could see by the way she laughed. Wish I could get to know you, mate. But unfortunately, we have to go.”

“We do?” she asked, looking up at Chilly.

“Your soon-to-be mother in law is a paying a surprise visit and she wants to see us right now, she’s already waiting at home,” Chilly glanced at Winksy, curious of Winksy’s reaction at his choice of words, before paying his attention back to his girl.

There were no other moments in his life that Winksy wanted to disappear from this world more than right now. He hated how intimidated he was feeling. He was the disadvantaged party here because of the lack of information that she gave him. Winksy glanced to her hands, checking on her fingers to look for a ring and he found nothing. That only added confusion into his already mixed up feelings.

The girl suddenly stood up straight. “I’m definitely tipsy right now I can’t see your mum!” she protested. Chilly gave her a faint smile, “Don’t worry. She loves you, she’d understand. I told her you’re at the pub.”

She sighed as she stared at Winksy, catching Winksy off-guard. “Well, it’s very nice to meet you and thanks for the good chat, Winksy. Good luck for your match.”

“You’re welcome. It’s been a pleasure,” Winksy said, trying to fake a smile which she also replied with a smile. Winksy was trying to compose himself from the disappointment that he was feeling, but he was sure that it was an apologetic smile that he saw on her face.

“Good bye, Winksy.”

She grabbed her boyfriend’s hand – or her fiancé’s hand – ready to drag him out of there. Chilly gave Winksy a smug smile, nodding to sign a good bye. And they left, leaving Winksy alone, feeling like an absolute idiot.

Somehow, he knew it was too good to be true. He had been unlucky in his romance life in the past year, making him hesitant to start anything with anyone. But she looked so captivating in her white blouse, glowing under the dim light. He wanted to blame her for making him feel and look stupid. But when he remembered how her voice sounded like honey and how her laugh was like music to his ear, he forgave her immediately. She was intriguing. She was full of surprises, although he didn’t like the last surprise he gave her.

His mind was right. It was after all just a bad idea.


	3. Bad Idea PART 2 - Harry Winks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few weeks later, he met her again at the same place. Would this one end the same?

Winksy just had a late training. He was driving home from the training ground, when he felt his stomach screamed for attention. He didn’t have a lot for dinner tonight; less than what he would normally have, actually. And his favorite beef sandwich from the pub he usually goes to suddenly crossed his mind. He knew he shouldn’t be eating this late, but he had been eating so strict this week so maybe it was okay to cheat for once. He just needed to do extra workout tomorrow. So instead of taking a left turn to his home, Winksy went straight after the traffic light.

It was a leisure night at the pub. No live music on Mondays, so Harry enjoyed his sandwiched accompanied by the bartender behind the bar, Louis, whom he befriended two years ago when he started coming to this pub. They were catching up about their lives, since it had been a few weeks since the last time they saw each other.

But then a voice interrupted their conversation. It was a voice that Winksy knew. Well, for the past few weeks he actually tried to push it to the back of his mind which he failed miserably because that voice didn’t want to stop lingering on his mind. He remembered the voice very vividly.

“Harry?” the voice softly said.

Harry turned his head. That petite figure stood behind him. He needed a few seconds to make sure that it was really _her_ that he was seeing and that he was not just hallucinating. She wrapped herself in a dark red jumpsuit. A matching tinted glasses was sitting on her nose, hiding her blue eyes.

“Hi, Emily. What are you doing here? There’s no live music on Mondays, I don’t suppose you come here to see your friend,” Harry finally said. It sounded harsher than he intended to, he slightly regretted it a second after.

Without a word, Emily took a seat on the bar stool beside Winksy before carefully placing her purse on the counter. Realizing the sudden change of situation and Harry’s mood, Louis excused himself to do some work at the back, leaving the two alone to the music that was faintly playing.

“I came here because I wanted to see you,” Emily said, looking at him. He felt her gaze on him despite the glasses she was wearing, but Winksy felt that it was too awkward. He felt uncomfortable, so he just looked away to the row of liquor bottles in the bar shelves in front of them.

After their encounter a few weeks ago, Winksy spent the next few days resenting her. He knew that he should just forget everything that happened, but then he realized that he already _liked_ her. So the fact that she made him embarrass himself really irritated him. Maybe she didn’t mean to, but still, Winksy wasn’t really fond of how everything ended up that night.

That night really left a huge impression on Winksy, the memories of her made it so hard for him to move on from it. He thought that he should just forget it because he probably would never see her again. But now here she was in front of him again, giving him the most unexpected surprise.

“You wanted to see me?” Winksy asked, needing a confirmation of what he just heard.

“Yes.” She took a deep breath, as if she was preparing for what she was about to say. “I wanted to say sorry. About that night. I know that I made a mistake.”

Winksy didn’t respond. He sipped on his beer before taking a glance at her. She was looking at him expectantly, hoping that he would say something. But Winksy just took another bite of his sandwich, silently giving her a sign that he would like her to continue her explanation.

“You were so nice to me, and I really had fun talking to you. I know that I have offended and disappointed you, and I’m so sorry for that,” she said apologetically. “I should’ve told you that I had a boyfriend, but I didn’t, and it was a mistake.”

“Fiancé. Isn’t he your fiancé?” Winksy asked, finally looking at her. He just noticed that she didn’t seem as vibrant as she was when he saw her for the first time. Her aura was glowing that night, but today she was different.

“Oh, no. We were talking about getting married but, no. No proposal happened.”

“No, I mean, it’s fine. Well, I was surprised but… It happened anyway. So, it’s okay.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s not. I was- I was kind of using you to escape from my boyfriend because earlier that day we had a fight and he managed to piss me off further by disappearing, leaving me here alone, so I really wanted to get him off my mind that night. But he suddenly appeared and I know that it must be terribly uncomfortable for you.”

“Well, yeah, it was. But, hey, I appreciate your apology, and I accept it.”

She sighed. The apologetic look on her face turned into a mix of confusion and astonishment. “Just like that? Oh, God. You’re too kind, you know. You should at least… I don’t know, rant at me? Say that you’re mad at me because I made you feel stupid?”

“Well, I could, but it seemed that you already understood how I must be feeling. And, you dragged yourself here from Chelsea to Enfield to apologize to me, so that’s enough,” Winksy chuckled. “And I honestly have to apologize to you too because I was really upset with you and made bad assumptions about you. I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay. I would be too if I were you,” she shrugged.

“How did you know I’m here anyway?”

“Well, I didn’t. I went here last week but you weren’t here. And I figured out that they only do the live music on Wednesdays and the weekends, I mean, you told me you go here for the music. But I’m going to Glasgow on Wednesday for a week, so I tried my luck today.”

Winksy’s lips perked into a smile, realizing that she was really making an effort to see him. Her remembering that he liked to go to the pub for the live music was also nice, showing that she actually paid attention to what he said that night. At some point when he was resenting her few weeks ago, he thought that she wasn’t actually a nice person that he thought she was. But today she proved him wrong.

“Well, thank you. But I hope you won’t get into trouble with your boyfriend for seeing me here.”

She went silent. There was a faint smile in her face that Winksy couldn’t really interpret.

“You don’t have to worry about that. We’re not together anymore,” she said. There was a hint of sadness in her voice.

Harry suddenly lost his words. He definitely did not expect to receive that information from her. He immediately felt bad for making the comment. That clearly explained the strange aura that he was feeling from her tonight. Her voice wasn’t as strong, and he realized that she must be hiding her swollen eyes with her tinted glasses.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have said that,” Winksy apologized. “Did… Did what happened that night had something to do with it?”

Winksy could only assume that the break up was recent. He remembered that her boyfriend did not look very pleased that night. Her boyfriend found them having a good time, laughing at each other’s jokes. He was worried that it had caused something bad to happen.

“No, no, no. You don’t have to worry about it. We were already kind of a mess when you saw us that night. I know you could probably sense it. Well, the problems kept piling up and we just couldn’t fix it, so we went separate ways. And I promise you that you did nothing wrong,” she smiled.

“Well, I’m sorry to hear that,” he smiled sympathetically. “Hey, can I buy you a drink? Do you want anything? You need to try these sandwiches, though.”

“Oh, no, thank you. I actually have to go now. I have an early flight tomorrow to Glasgow. It’s a business trip. My boss isn’t going to be pleased if I’m late, she’s very strict with time,” she grabbed her purse that was sitting on the bar counter. “Besides, I already tried the tuna sandwich last week and you’re right, they’re really good.”

“You have to try the beef one, or the turkey, I think they’re better.”

“Well… That only means I’ll have to go here again, and you’ll have to introduce me to every single fine sandwiches they have here.”

Winksy couldn’t hide the smile on his face. “That sounds good. We’ll just have to arrange that.”

“I’ll let you know when I’m available because work is going to be crazy for the next few weeks.”

“Okay, I’m going to need your number, though.”

Winksy gave her his phone and she typed her number in. “It’s Emily Harris,” she said, giving his phone back. “So… We’re good, right?”

“Yeah we’re good,” Winksy smiled and she smiled back at him, feeling relieved that everything between them had been resolved. But Winksy didn’t expect it when she leaned to him to give him a hug. He was surprised, but quick to react as he hugged her back.

“Can we be friends? I hope it doesn’t sound weird but I feel so comfortable talking to you and… You’re just a very fun person to be with,” she asked as she pulled from the hug.

“Of course, we can. I wouldn’t say yes to your sandwich-testing proposal if I don’t want to be friends with you.”

“Okay, great! Thank you, friend,” she offered her hand for a handshake which Winksy accepted. They both chuckled and she got down from her stool. “Oh, and I watched your match on TV a couple of days ago. I just want to say that you are amazing. Congrats for the win!”

“Well, thank you. Did your brother drag you again to watch this one?”

“No, I watched it because I wanted to see you,” she playfully smiled. “You also need to teach me about the rules because I never really paid attention all these time so I was confused why the Arsenal guy was given a red card.”

“Well, it’s because he– Sorry. Not now. Okay, I’ll tell you next time,” Winksy said as they both chuckled. “Have safe flight tomorrow and good luck for your work.”

“Thank you. Bye, Winksy.”

Her smile was the last thing he saw when she turned around and walked out the pub. He fixed his eyes on her small figure until she disappeared behind the door; she glanced at him one more time before she closed it. Winksy kept staring at the door with a wide smile on his face even after she was gone. He didn’t even realize that Louis had come back.

“Nice one, Winksy. You like her, don’t you? It’s like, written all over your face,” Louis said, swinging his hand to point out Winksy’s grinning face, bringing Winksy back to Earth. He smirked to tease the boy. “It’s time, you know. It saddens me every time you sit here alone. But seeing you with her, well, that is a nice view from the front row right here. She’s one hundred percent your type, isn’t she? Oh, are you already in love with her?”

“Oh, shut it, Louis.”

But Winksy just couldn’t hide his smile. He sipped on his beer, trying to really figure out what just happened. He even just realized that his heart was beating fast. Who would’ve known that his impromptu stop to the pub was going to lead into this? He had been trying so hard to wipe her out of his mind, and maybe the reason why he failed to do that was because their paths were going to cross again. He felt sorry for her because she was probably going through a hard heartbreak, but he couldn’t deny that now he probably had a chance with her, the chance that he didn’t have before.

It was only their second meeting, but Winksy couldn’t believe how many surprises she had been giving him. Thankfully, this time it was a good one. And he couldn’t wait for more. She was no longer a bad idea.


	4. Consolation Prize - Son Heungmin

The referee blew the full time whistle. She felt her heart breaks when the camera zoomed in on Sonny. Disappointment was sprawled all over his face. He looked exhausted. It definitely wasn’t his best performance, and she knew how upset he must be for missing some goals that led his team into a defeat in the London derby today.

He said he would be home by the evening, so she thought that it would be nice if she cooks him dinner. She had mastered the Korean seafood pancake recipe that she learned from his mother, so maybe a comfort food would cheer him up a little bit. She rushed herself to the supermarket to get the ingredients, stopped by the bakery to get his favourite bread and pudding, and started occupying the kitchen as soon as she got home.

Sonny came home when she was just done cooking and about to set the table. He greeted her with a tired smile and she welcomed him in a big hug. But then he got distracted as he noticed something.

“Wait, I know this smell,” he said as he sniffed, still hugging her, trying to search for a clue from the familiar aroma that came from the kitchen.

“Sure you do.”

“Did you make haemulpajeon (seafood pancake)?”

He pulled back from the hug and she just answered his question with a smirk, happy to see a surprised and excited smile replacing the gloominess on his face.

“That’s my favourite!”

“I know,” she giggled. “Do you want to eat or shower first?”

“Eat first. I’m really hungry, I didn’t eat after match,” he sighed, rubbing his belly.

She asked him to go sit down and wait as she prepared the table, but he insisted to help. He beamed when he saw the beautiful seafood pancake. It was a quite long time since the last time he had it and he was excited for it. He thanked her for making the pancake for him. Coming home after a tiring match to his favourite food was something he didn’t know he needs.

His face brightened up a bit after his first bite of the pancake that she made. He let out a long sigh as he let the tasty flavours spoiling his taste buds. She did nothing but smile at the sight of him savouring the pancake.

“This is literally the same as what my mother makes!” he exclaimed. “The last time you made it, something was still missing but this one is perfect!” He praised her over and over again, saying how delicious the pancake was, making her really feel satisfied because she finally nailed the dish.

She was really worried about Sonny and wanted to ask him how he was feeling. But she decided to wait and let him have his dinner in peace and saved the question for later. They still had the whole night to talk about it, if he wanted to talk about it. She would always be ready for him if he wanted to share what he was feeling.

\-----

The warm water was running down the shower. Sonny was shampooing his hair when he heard a knock on the door. Through the clear shower glass, he saw the door being opened before her head peeked inside.

“Do you have a room for one more?” she asked.

His lips perked into a smile. “Come here,” he said. He watched her as she entered the bathroom and stripped her clothes off, letting out a small sigh when he saw the beautiful sight of her covered in nothing. She put on a shower cap before she got in the shower. He burst into laughter when he realized the pattern of her shower cap.

“Why ducks?”

“Don’t laugh! I lost my shower cap and this is the only one I could find in the store!”

“It’s cute. It looks good on you. Still so pretty,” he joked, earning a playful smack on his arm from her.

“Oh, really? You’d tell me I’m gorgeous even if I’m wearing duck printed pajamas, wouldn’t you?”

“Well, you look pretty in anything… Or in nothing…”

She snickered as he pulled her into a hug, and they both stayed like that for a moment under the warm water. He was feeling comfortable, but she hurried him to continue his shower. He was tired and she didn’t want him to get sick from being under the water for too long.

“Your shower gel smells different,” he commented, realizing that it was not the usual lovely sweet scent that was filling the shower stall. It was fresher like flowers, with a hint of sweetness, and softer.

“Oh, I bought a different one. I just wanted to try this new product that I found... What do you think?”

“I like it. Smells more like you.”

“What do you mean?”

“The previous one was just sweet. This one is still sweet, but more fresh. It reminds me of your sweet and happy smile.”

She chuckled as she turn around, signalling him to help her wash her back. “So you like this one better?”

“I think so,” he said as he opened the shower gel bottle and smelling the scent before putting the product into his hand and gently rubbing her back. When he finished, he asked her to do the same for him. He let out a relieved sigh as she gave him little massages on his shoulder and back, trying to relieve the tension on his stiffened muscles.

They got out of the shower together. After drying themselves up and putting on pyjamas to keep them warm, she helped him to dry his hair as she told him about her day and updated him about her sister’s wedding. The dress code for the wedding had been decided and the family would need to dress in navy blue. Sonny joked that he would just wear the Spurs navy blue suit.

She had just done her night skincare routine and was tidying up her dressing table when she felt a pair of arms sneaked around her from behind. She glanced at the mirror and saw the reflection of Sonny hugging her, resting his chin on her shoulder. Her lips twitched into a small smile as she turned around. He immediately wrapped his arm around her, burying her in the biggest bear hug ever.

“Hello, you,” she mumbled into his shoulder.

“I’m sorry I didn’t win today like I promised,” he replied. The disappointment and regret in his voice were clear. She hated it every time he spoke with his sad voice on.

“It’s okay, baby. It’s just one match. Let’s win the next, okay?”

“But I didn’t even do my best. I should have pushed more,” he sighed heavily. “Sorry I disappoint you. You were so excited for this derby.”

“You’re literally the best player out there. You don’t disappoint me just because you lost one match.”

She pulled back from the hug. He had his head hung low, so she lifted it up with both of her hands. He was frowning, and she copied his expression.

“I’ll let you be sad today, but tomorrow we’ll wake up with a smile, okay? We got important matches coming up.”

He nodded and pulled her back into his embrace. He didn’t say it, but he was thinking about how grateful he was for the attention she gave him. After his mum, she was definitely his biggest supporter. He told himself how lucky he was to have her who didn’t only care about him but also what he loved and what he did for a living.

He whispered “I love you” into her ear twice, which she quickly replied.

\-----

He was cuddled to her in bed; his face was buried on her neck, their legs entangled, and his hand was rested on her waist. The dinner and the shower made him feel really sleepy, but he didn’t want to fall asleep just yet, still wanting to enjoy the comfort of being wrapped around her arms.

“I don’t think it should be a penalty, you know. The Chelsea guy literally slipped on his own foot, and unfortunately Toby was so close to him,” she said as she recalled the scene of the foul.

“Yeah, we felt like the referee was kind of being unfair…” he agreed.

“That’s why you shouldn’t be too upset about this.”

“But I should’ve scored at least two goals…”

“You did okay, you still took chances. It’s just pure bad luck that the ball hit the woodwork twice.”

She was just being honest that Sonny didn’t do his best, but it definitely was not his worst either. Sonny always preferred her to tell him that he doesn’t do good rather than being told only sweet words when the fact is the opposite. It motivated him more to do better. Since she came into his life, he had an extra purpose when he plays which is to make her proud.

“Thank you, baby,” he mumbled, suddenly diverting the topic.

“For what?”

“For taking care of me. I know you made the haemulpajeon to cheer me up. Your hug would have been enough to comfort me, but of course you did more,” he said. He felt so grateful for her who always did her best to console him every time he lost a match. Whether it was cooking for him, preparing a nice and warm bath, or even just giving him a massage before sleep, he was always thankful of the things she did.

“Oh, baby, it’s my pleasure to take care of you.”

“I have two weeks of break next week. I’m going to take you on a lot of dates.”

“Oh, really? What have you planned?”

“Well, there are some places I want to take you to, but I’m still making the plan.”

Both of them fell into a comfortable silence. The only thing that she could hear was his breathing. He felt calm listening to the sound of her heartbeat. They really loved moments like this, just them being so close to each other and sharing warmth.

“You smell so good, baby,” he praised her. His brain just couldn’t stop thinking about how calming and soothing her scent was. The scent of the new shower gel and her natural scent really complimented each other. He kept breathing it as an effort to remember this particular scent, making some space in his brain to store this new detail about her.

“Aw, thank you.”

He wriggled out of her embrace and raised his head. She searched for his face, wondering what he was doing.

“Lean down so I can kiss you.”

She chuckled as she ruffled his fluffy hair. She traced his slightly parted lips with her thumb while admiring his face. All the gloomy expressions had left, leaving only tiredness to occupy. All he needed was a good night sleep, and she believed he would be so much better in the morning.

She cupped his face and leaned down until he reached her lips. He welcomed her in a sweet kiss. His hand that was resting in her waist pulled her closer. As he craved more of the kiss, he propped his body up with his other hand to take more control. He broke the kiss briefly to carefully lay her down before reconnecting their lips. He cupped her face and gently caressed her cheek.

His kiss was soft and undemanding. He was just giving. She felt nothing but his love for her. She held on to his sides because her head always got slightly dizzy every time he kissed her like this.

He gave her a long peck on her lips before breaking the kiss. He gave her a warm smile and little kisses on her cheeks. He nuzzled his face into her shoulder and he was back in their previous position with him cuddled in her arms. She planted a kiss on his forehead as she caressed his back, giving him the comfort that he needed.

He started to drift off to sleep. The last thing he thought before he fell asleep was how disappointed and unsatisfied he was with today’s result. But it was okay because he got her, the best consolation prize he could ever ask for. As long as he got her, he knew that everything was going to be alright.


End file.
